Quest Of The 7
by Maddyham1
Summary: Loosly based off of Forgotten Realms.
1. Chapter 1

Crevan skipped through his tiny village in the Halfling Planes. Small wooden houses were strewn about as if a hand had scattered rose petals upon the land. It was a peaceful village, the villagers all smiling and exchanging warm comments. Crevan sauntered down a dirt path, ever the adventurer. Green silky grass shimmered in the morning sun all around him.

From a distance a voice cried out, halting Crevan's wondering. "Crev! Oh Crev where are you? I told you not to wander away." The female's voice drew Crev from his mischievous thoughts.

"I'm here Mum!" Crev called out in reply as a short women came into view. She was an average height for Halflings, three foot four, and had flowing blonde hair that glinted with the sunlight. Crev's own hair match her's. Hair wasn't the only trait that the two shared. The had the same glimmering blue eyes, the same fair skin, the same little nose. Anyone could tell they were related, even a goblin. The woman wore a pink flowery apron over a baby blue dress.

"Come Crev. We have dinner ready and you got a letter." The woman's sweet voice was like a melody.

"Coming Mum!" Crev called and followed her to their home. While Crev had just turned 55 last week, he looked as if he were a Human child with pointed ears. His smile, which he almost always wore, only heightened his innocence, which he was anything but. Crev loved the occasional trick or prank and was always in the mood for adventure. Who ever sent him his letter must have known that fact for the letter described such things.

To Crevan Burrfoot,

The things I have to tell you should not be written so you will not get the whole story. I will keep this short so you can start your travel soon. What I can tell you in this letter is that the Finrareia is in danger. I am gathering a group of adventurers to save it. It will be the adventure of your lives. If you wish to join the cause, meet me and the other adventurers in the Raging Hog in a ten day. I will be waiting.

-Jar

Crev stared at the letter, reading and rereading it over and over again as he ate his dinner. The biscuits were flavorless as he thought. The adventure of his life. Save the world. Raging Hog. Millions of thoughts raced through his head.

"Mum?" Crev asked.

"Yes dear?" She answered.

"This letter here. It says I could save the world. Have an adventure. I'd like to go. I must leave soon though," Crev explained.

His mother sighed. "Very well dear, very well. If you wish to go you may. You are an adult, have been for 30 years, it's time you go off and make your own decisions."

"Thanks Mum!" He exclaimed and gave the small Halfling a huge hug. Crev ran off to pack his belongings. When he was done, on his back he carried a backpack of necessities, weapons, tricks, instruments, and maps. He was ready. Clad in leather armor and a walking stick, Crevan Pensbar set of towards the Raging Hog in the south. He was going to save the world. To have the adventure of a lifetime.

All around Finrareia Jar had sent letters, birds with messages, scrolls, and servants. The messages varied but all had the same point. To save Finrareia from a great evil. Jar had offered money, redemption, adventure, honor, glory, power. He told them all to meet at the Raging Hog in the Coral Coast. That night was the night of the meeting, he would see who deemed saving all of Finrareia worthy of their time. Jar only hoped it would be enough.


	2. Chapter 2

The Raging Hog was almost empty, the human noted. He felt out of place in his chain mail armor and his great sword strung across his back. His sister sat at the bar seat next to him in her normal red cloak to conceal her features. Maybe they came on the wrong day. Maybe this was a set up. An ambush. Someone was coming to kill them not meet them. It was a trick.

"Calm down Kieran. Barely anyone is here. No one's going to hurt me," Ariana whispered.

"You're right. No one's going to hurt you, because they won't get the chance," Kieran snarled, still looking about the inn for potential threats.

"Look Kieran. You've scared away the barmaid. How are we supposed to get drinks now?" Ariana jabbed.

Kieran winced. "Sorry," he muttered. Ariana nodded. She opened her mouth to say something but a voice interrupted.

"You should be sorry. The lady looks rather parched," the voice said. Kieran tensed. He turned, ready to cut open the person if they so much as blink at his sister wrong. "Arabella Kamon at your service. I assume you're here for the 'adventure of our lives'," the stranger said as she extended her hand.

Arabella was dressed in shining silver armor, dwarven plate Kieran guessed. She had matching silver gauntlets on either arm and a longsword was strapped to her belt. A backpack dawned her back full of provisions or supplies one would assume.

Under one arm was a silver helmet with a gold design on either side of the head. Her shimmering brown eyes matched her dazzling, straight brown hair which fell to her shoulders. Her jaw was defined and her neck muscles strong. Shiny silver plate armor adorned her legs and boots. She looked like a warrior. An impressive one at that.

"Are you just going to gawk all day or are you going to shake my hand like a civilized man, Kieran?" Arabella had a wicked tongue, Kieran realized as he lifted his hand and shook her own.

"Kieran Nightfel, this is my sister, Ariana, but we call her Ari," he said, gesturing with his other hand. Arabella nodded and sat down next to Ari.

"What do you two do?" She asked.

The siblings looked at each other. "What do you mean?" Ariana asked, looking back to the strange warrior.

"Well you know, if we're gonna be saving the world, I figured some of us would have some powers. I don't and I'm assuming you do," Arabella said, pointing at Ari. Ari opened her mouth but Arabella shook her head. "Come on Ari. To save the world you gotta have skill. Don't matter what skill but it gotta be useful in fights. He," she jabbed her thumb in Kieran's direction. "He's good at fighting." Arabella pause, then looked at Kieran. "Or at least I think he is. This could all be for decoration." She waved her hand at Kieran's armor and weapon.

Kieran opened his mouth to retort but Arabella waved him off. "But you," She said looking into the shadows of Ari's cloak. "You don't have anything on you. No weapons, no spellbook, no wand. And the gods know you're not an elf with their insufferable pointy ears and arrogance. If I ever see an elf I'll-"

"You'll what?" A voice interrupted Arabella's rant. The trio turned around to see a tall man. He wasn't very old, only thirty or so, but he had a graceful air about him. He wore a black cloak that hid all his features but there were strange pointed lumps on either side of his head. Ears. A longbow and quiver were slung across his back while a longsword was strapped to his belt.

"Do you have a problem with people with, what was it, oh, yes, 'pointy ears'?" The stranger asked Arabella.

"No, I don't have a problem with people with pointy ears. I've got a problem with elves. Luckily for you, you're not an elf, are you?" Arabella asked.

The stranger said nothing, the only indication of his surprise the tightness of his jaw. "Of course not. You wear clothes of human make. Either you are an elf but enjoy human fashion, which is highly unlikely because you obviously have enough money to buy elvish clothes based on the quality of your weapons, or you're a half-elf. Half-elf is the more probable answer but I am slightly intrigued by your accent. It sounds almost…. drow?" Arabella looked up from her nail to gauge the strangers response.

The half-drow just stared at Arabella, eye narrowed. "How," he asked roughly.

"I'm very observant. It helps that you all are very easy to read of course. And although you are rather interesting I would rather go back to questioning my dear friend Ari so why don't you tell us your name?" The party looked at Arabella in shock. "Well don't just stand there," she said after a moment. "Introduce yourself and take a seat."

The stranger sat down. "Dizrak Faysin," was all he said. Arabella smirked.

"Now, Ari, where were we?" Arabella asked looking towards her. Ariana was still shocked.

"How- How do you do that?" she asked.

"I told you, I'm very observant. I can read people very easily, see people who don't want to be seen. Much like that fellow over there in the shadows. Yes you, come over and join us." Ariana looked towards where Arabella was speaking and saw nothing.

She opened her mouth to say as much when a dark figure indeed stepped out from the darkness. He himself was almost a shadow, his dark cloak, black as midnight, obscured his features.

The man, as he was indeed a man and not an elf, was tall. He had a strong jaw, the only part of his face Ari could see. The cloak covered most of the rest of him but Ari could see polished black leather boots.

"Was wondering when you would see me Ms…?" The handsome man smirked. His eyes, a dark shade of forest green, darted around the room in anticipation before focusing on Arabella, waiting for her introduction.

"Kamon," Arabella finished for him. "Arabella Kamon. Who are you?" She asked suspiciously.

The man put a leather clad hand to his heart in mock offence. "Won't you introduce the rest of your merry bunch before I introduce myself. After all, I do deserve to know who, exactly, I will be introducing myself to, don't I?" He looked at Arabella a moment longer before he was interrupted by twinkling laughter. The stranger looked towards the source of the joyous sound and was met with the intense stare of Ariana.

"And who, pray tell, is this beauty?" The stranger fixed Ari with a predatory gaze and bowed, an attractive smile slowly spreading across his face. Ariana blushed and looked down as the handsome stranger studied her.

Kieran casually placed a hand on his sword hilt and growled before the strange man could do anything else. "Why don't you take your antics and leave us alone. I'm sure you have a whole list of other people to bother. Your pitiful jokes are of no use to us."

The stranger looked to Kieran annoyed, "Well you'd better get used to my pitiful jokes because you'll be stuck with them for however long this 'saving the world' thing takes because, contrary to popular belief, I care about the well being of Finrareia and am apart of this little quest Jar has arranged for us," the stranger finished sharply.

Ari layed a gentle hand on Kieran's armored arm. "Now is not the time to pick a fight. We don't know what this Jar person has in store and we will need all the allies we can get to complete whatever task he has us set on. Please don't be too overbearing," she whispered.

"Overbearing!" Kieran barked. "You think I'm overb-"

"Yes. Now hush!" Ari turned to the handsome stranger. "Sorry about Kieran. Sometimes he can be rather…" she trailed off, looking for the right word. "Protective. Anyway, I'm Ariana Nightfel, but you can call me Ari. This is my brother Kieran. The one in the cloak over there is Dizrak Faysin. And, of course, you've met Arabella." Ari finished introducing everyone.

The new commer nodded to each of them, then looked back at Ari, "Tamesis or Tam, if you wish it." Tam started to say something else when he was abruptly interrupted by a loud popping sound.

The party looked towards the sound and were met with a sight to behold. A tall drow with a pearl white ponytail atop his head and a vest that showed his muscular arms was standing in front of the doors of the tavern, accompanied by an elegant looking half-elf.

The drow stood there, dusting invisible flecks of dust from his ebony shoulders. His intimidating image enhanced by his outfit choice which consisted of a well fitted red vest with golden trim, dark blue expertly tailored trousers accompanied by a black leather belt from which various bags dangled, shiny knee-high black leather boots, golden bracers, and a wide blue hat with a single white feather. As if the gods had claimed this elf wasn't terrifying enough, he had two glowing red eyes that seemed to stare into the souls of every person in the room.

The half elf the drow traveled with smirked. "Hello," He started, bright blue eyes piercing through the small party. Arabella noticed that his eyes lingered on Dizrak for a slight moment before continuing his inspection of the group. "My name is Aroxian Dyrrl. I come from Silveron and I am the firstborn son of King Mortian. There is a very dangerous man plotting against our kingdom, and we need your help. The journey will be long and harrowing. It will be dangerous. But you six will be bathed in riches afterwards, I assure you."

"There are only five of us." Arabella said, confused.

The dark elf that had stayed previously silent stepped forward. "There will be six of you. It appears the halfling is running a little late. I have sent out many letters and animals with messages to many different people to help with this quest, but it seems only six of you deem Finrareia worth saving. As Aroxian has told you, his city, Silveron, is being threatened by a very powerful person. I have enlisted you all to help save Silveron.

"Some of you might not make it, some of you might not be strong enough to get to the end of this adventure so it is up to you to choose to accept this quest to save all of Finrareia. If you do not, life as you know it, will cease to exist. Who among you shall take on the task. Who among you shall become not just adventurers, but heroes and saviors?" Jar looked at the group expectantly.

Arabella stood up confidently. "Arabella the Savior, has a rather nice ring to it. I'll join," she said with a wink. She went up and shook hands with Jar and Aroxian.

Tam smirked and stalked towards Jar, whose hand was already outstretched, ready to shake. "I suppose the world isn't all bad. Might as well save it. Who knows, maybe I can find a special something," Tam glanced towards Ari, his eyes softening slightly, "or someone that's worth saving." He shook Jar's hand then Aroxian's and turned his attention to the remaining three people.

Dizrak looked Aroxian in the eye. "Your people are in danger. I will help to defend them. I do this not for the money or glory. I do it to help you. I hope by the end of this, we might become… friends," he stated flatly. Dizrak stood and walked to Aroxian, his intense stare never leaving Aroxian's face. When he stood only a few feet away, Dizrak bowed his head. "I shall accept you offer."

Ari got up to follow the example the others lead but Kieran grabbed her wrist, stopping her advance. "Are you sure you want to do this, Ari?" He asked quietly. "Once you shake their hands, there's no going back. Can you handle it?" A look of concern crossed his features as he gazed up at Ariana from where he sat.

Ari looked from her brother to the group standing near the doors, awaiting her answer. Arabella smiled and nodded encouragingly at Ari. Yes, she seemed to be saying. You know you can make a difference. You know you can help. Come, join us. Save the world with me, Ari.

Ariana turned back to Kieran. "I'm ready. I can control it, as long as I have you by my side. I can do this Kieran, we can do this. Let's go save the world."

Kieran nodded gravely then cracked a smile. "You're right, as usual. Let's go save the world." With that, the two stood and shook Jar's hand, then Aroxian's.

Aroxian looked towards Jar. "He should be here. If the halfling doesn't show, shall we continue?" He asked the calm drow.

"No need for waiting. Creaven is here," Jar replied with a small smile. Ari turned to face the doors of the tavern, expecting this halfling to come through them at any moment. What she didn't expect was to here slight creaking coming from the roof. She turned back around, eyeing the ceiling. Nothing happened.

Ari waited longer until… there. A small halfling with tousled, brown hair hopped down from where he was previously perched in the rafters. "Sorry to keep you all waiting," he said to the group gathered in a childish voice. "I would have been on time had I not run into some trouble. I was on my way here when I ran into some pirates in the Halfling Planes. They said they were looking for something so I helped them find it. An odd group though. A halfling and some squishy bears. They had to find a magical artifact that produced ammunition for their-"

"Creaven." Jar interrupted. "We are here for business. I'm sure the rest of your party would like to here your story when you start traveling, but for now, can you introduce yourself?" The drow didn't look annoyed but slightly more… urgent, Arabella noticed.

"Oh, but of course!" Creaven said excitedly. "I'm Creaven Burrfoot!"

Jar looked around the room at all seven of the others and said, "And so it begins."


End file.
